Another reception at the Embassy--the ever fabulous, Boy with a Fish played. Nice group of people--had some fun. Love their mid-tone drone...and the use of the moog (part of the Tburg pride as Moog had his factory H E R E).
More thinking on the protest stuff. This may have thesis potential...I am kinda on fire about this. Later.
We went to see "Why We Fight", a startling and realistic view of the industrial military complex--and how politics, the president and cabinet, the congress, big business and the new add, the "thinktanks" are driving war and conflict throughout the world--driving US imperialism and capitalism. It is very current and a must for anyone who is confused, angry and lost in the US today. Dead on. Shocking. My daughter cried.
Saw some terrific shows at the Herbert Johnson Museum at Cornell. First off was the work of Willie Cole--an african american artist who uses irons and methods of burning as his lead technique. He burns wood, canvas and kente cloth in a very inspired and decorative way to express servitude and slavery. The work is gorgeous and very bold. He has an enormous chessboard of lawn jockeys modified to express their chess roles (king, queen etc)--also expressing tribal roles (king, queen, shaman etc). Well worth the trip to see.
Also saw a nice show on illustration and book design. Fabulous Ben Shahnprotest serigraph/poster that says Stop across the top with this wonderful ripped shape that becomes a bold and jaggety devil's head. This is really pushing my buttons because the take-away for me from the Fight movie is that so much of this insane crap going on in the government and world is truly beyond our reach. We are not being communicated to...and that our role as US citizens is to stand aside and shut up...and take the dumbed down media, stupid news, obvuscated truth--and smile....and pay the $3.00 a gallon and buy a new big dumb car. We illustrators, designers, communicators must get up off our lazy duffs and at least spend some time in expressing our disgust to begin to move the everyday headset off the big, dumb and stupid (and right wing), unquestioning idiocy before it is too late.
So to that, I am inspired to do some Ben Shahn inspired protest work and challenge each and every one of you to do the same. I don't want this to be the world we hand our children. Our work can make a difference.
Images are by Ben Shahn. Thought you should get a little looksee at what I mean--Aren't they gorgous? simple? and a straight shot?
Well, the Hot Club of Rongovia was good and very sweet. Lively group--with many of the tried and true Rongovians doing a little guest spot singing to bring it all a little closer to home. We had drinks and chips there with a new best friend. It was great...felt like we were on vacation in our own hometown. Then, over to the Pourhouse for some music full of energy and Tburg "family".The Pourhouse group was younger and just as tight...and they were so into their work and music that the floor shook as the music rang out. It was charming with the lead violin and his inciente partner singing sweetly together while this old shrew anticipated the first year with their first. Car seats, diapers, late nights and learning what patience really is! Certainly, a lot of learning together! What a great way to go into the future, singing! It was great to have such huge choices literally within the same block.
How lucky are we?!
In the hamlet of Rongovia, tonight at the Embassy--the Rongovian Hot Foot Club will be performing. As noted on the site:
"free , 6-9pm , Performing classic compositions in the spirit of Django Reinhardt, originals by Dave Davies and the best of the Blues Age. Harry Aceto- Guitar Dave Davies - Guitar, Trombone, Vocals Doug Robinson - Guitar, Vocals Eric Aceto- Violin Brian Earle - Clarinet Jim Sherpa - Washtub Bass or .Bernie Upson - Upright Bass"
The Acetos are wonderful--and worth the trip--plus with all the other musicians, it promises to be great music in a small town, tonight!
Picture is a crop of a gouache sketch for my SF Saint Francis. He is very dour and inspired by the stellar byzantines. It is, however,unfortunate that he looks somewhat like Mr. Bin Laden (not a patron saint of San Francisco).
The heron yesterday is a little peek under the tent insofar as work in progress. As I said before, more birds of California for the SU SF project. Got a California Quail (state bird), Brown Pelican--Blue heron in the works. Possibly a plover and maybe one more.Am concerned the critique might center around how I am knocking off Nancy Stahl--but I am not. I am working on a vector look and feel that jumps off the work done for NYC. Nancy's work is gorgeous & inspiring, but she can't be the only person to do an egret using vector work. Plus, my work may be vector, may be illustrator(flat colors)just like her, but her sensibilities and aesthetics are different than mine. I bring my own history, my experience as a graphic designer, and my me to my work. I shouldn't worry about this...and shouldn't step around doing images because someone else has "done it" before. But, I am full of insecurities around this. Hopefully, I will get over it.
Would like to do a dodo bird (as Kitty and Alex are requesting it...albeit Alex wants his to have a "Horatio Hornblower" hat and a sword with his). Nancy doesnt have a dodo.Maybe go extinct and own that? No mo' Moa..etc.
The dodo is a gouache sketch for future reference.
I love dogs...and the way they can express things that one might be reluctant to have another creature express.Brilliant day today. Saw a big fat ole turkey girl traisping in front of a bank of forsythia at the lake. Those turkeys are such ninnies...not graceful walking or when necessary, flying. Brilliant day.Going to be a bluesky week. Turkey vultures still doing their thing.
New Juxtapose is great. Was reading all the ads (my favorite) and came across the most wonderful inspiration. To backtrack a little, we saw the movie, Walk the Line, and though the movie was good...the poster was a homerun. I was jealous of the artist who illustrated itbecause it was totally dead on...Flat planes of color, could be a woodcut--really descriptive lines, powerfully simple stuff. I thought it might be the Hatch Press people (they are based in Tennesee and do some beautiful, limited edition work)...but it turns out its my new favorite guy, Shepard Fairey. Wow. And, Walk the Line was nothing compared to the body of his work (particularly the posters). See for yourself here. He rocks!
Not much going on today. Rain. Everyone off. Running the show by myself. Busy trying to keep all the balls in the air.Hope things pick up this weekend..or I might put myself to sleep. We may go to see "Thank you for Smoking" this p.m.
It was animal planet in the front yard this morning. These smarty pants deer were having a nice old time, eating whatever looked good (not close enough to the hosta to worry)-- So, I ran out on the front porch,stomped my feet and the bold things didn't even flinch. Then,I ran down the path & the four legged ones got the idea when I came within 10 feet of them that the buffet had closed. Go somewhere else for your springtime breakfast sandwich. And no, we do not throw in the homefries.
Bold as paint. Dumb as paint too.
Big nasty turkey vultures have returned and started their spring rituals in the back yard. I think they nest in some of the really tall pine trees--and caw and crow and circle until you are made crazy by it. Then, they strut around (neighbor says that they do this to dry their wings), flapping those big wings...and close enough to see their heads which look like its made of raw meat--framing their yellow, beady eyes. I think there may be a picture in there. I used to think they came for carrion, but now that we have been here for 3 winters, it seems they come for their spring holiday--to "share the love". And we do.
This is an example of the 13 Avian Flu images that I did late last year. I have been alarmed by the prospect of this disease for well on a year now--and am startled with the blaise attitude the media, artists and people in general have with this threat. If it is anything like the flu that struck in the early part of the last century, it could wipe out as much as a third of the population. And, what with our being more global--where it is easy to fly from coast to coast or from country to county...if it engages...we could be looking at more. For all the flu shots and medicine we have, this is another surprise attack (a la 9/11)--albeit natural--that could level us as individuals and as a nation.
This image is called "It started with a goose"-- you get the idea. This was created in Adobe Illustrator CS1, and finished in Adobe Photoshop CS1. Hand-drawn images are merged into this design.
There is a rough plan that during "Festival of Flowers" weekend--we will do a sketch crawl of a part of Main Street to gather interest in the Main Street Project, encourage drawing and gathering in a new way and begin to generate some interesting visuals around Main Street. The inspiration comes from Enrico Casarosa (see his blog listed to the right)who has done this in San Francisco and Japan. His Sketch Crawls are on a set date --so that people from around the world can do this--and add to his postings etc. about their crawl. He is a very engaging fellow--who felt that he needed to get out and draw for himself--and posed this idea to himself...which grew to be a community (arts) activity.He goes to different locations for inspiration etc.
Generally, the plan is to go from one location to another....starting early in the morning and ending up in mid/late afternoon--at a location that all the artists can gather at and share their work with each other.
I would like to sync up with his schedule, but ours should link to a Tburg activity to get the publicity and attention we will need to get a group together.
Here she is...per my note the other day. Pointing her silly feet and holding a little present to celebrate her birthday. Come to think of it, I should have given her a little cake! Tried out (swatched) my new watercolors. I think they will do. The color is good...nice and intense. Bee you ti ful!
This is the skull/fortune cookie picture that I will knock some texture into for the Syracuse San Francisco picture. Have been working textures into the image (yesterday's blog)--to discover (after I over gilded the lily twice--3.5 hrs. later) that you just need a "little something" versus hitting the poor image with a hammer. Tonight,I am pulling out the paints and work out a few ideas that you poor souls will get the chance to participate in the generation. I figure that the paint is going to get me closer before I start really "working" my St. Francis image. Have to install "Painter" again as it might get me closer with texture etc. That simple stuff is what Painter is good for...not rendering images. Also have some new cool textures that I just found that might work too. The fog and drizzle have cleared...and we have a big, bluesky day.
Three books sit atop the pile that is my desk. New inspiration for the weary (me). They are:
Wayne Thiebaud, a Painting Perspective
by Steven A. Nash and Adam Gopnik
Copyright ©2000 Museums of San Francisco
Thames and Hudson Publisher
Thiebaud is the max. This is a guy who can break an image down to simple parts and render it in a way that is "throw the windows open" fresh using his paint as really part of the structure of his painting...not just the medium. He is not shy with white space--and uses it to build these brilliant compositions. His use of color is masterful--using outlines in contrasting colors to really aid in the description of the object, but at the same time delivering graphic simplicity. If you don't know Thiebaud, run to your library and check out this book. If you are lucky enough to live in a major metro area, get your sweet self to a museum and see the work with your eyes. Be prepared to be stunned.
Byzantium, Faith and Power (1261-1557)
Edited by Helen C. Evans
Copyright ©2004 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
As you are aware, I am loving the Byzantine thing these day. This is the lodestone of Byzantium. I saw this show at the Met a while back and bocked at the price and size of this tome--and didn't commit to buying it. Now its on my desk. No book or catalog in the world could fully articulate the spectacular show about this subject. The objects were amazing, and a vast wide range of them too. The curation of the work gave, just by association, a peek into the world of art, architecture and decorative objects that was the impetus of my love of this stuff. However, show aside, this book rocks! Lots of well written copy. Lots of tales of the saints (love!) All written in a manner that it is not inconcievable that you could sit down and read this book cover to cover.
The Hermetic Museum
Alchemy and Mysticism
by Alexander Roob
Copyright ©2005 Taschen
whoooh! Taschen always does a great job putting these reference books together. I could randomly buy a Taschen book and be really happy with anything. Chock a block images,good copy, big fat pub. Plenty to look at. This book is filled with strange and wonderful stuff from the Masons (love), Blake (love) Kaballah (you get the idea) with illustrations and quotes from the texts they are illustrating. Roob touches on everything from how Genesis is described through topics of Macrocosm and Microcosm...through good stuff like the Philosophic Tree, Oedipus chimericus, the Torment of Metals. I might have to stop right now and dive in!
The picture above is the beginning of a skull in chinatown idea for my San Francisco images. Your thoughts?
My daughter's dear friend is having a birthday next week and we are all making pictures for presents. Theme, bunnies...or rabbits...with top hats (?) or without. Seems appropriate for the time of the year--but this crowd of teen gal pals, all have animals they identify with--wolves, cats, cows...bunnies. Sometimes it's just the animal. Sometimes it's morphed with manga gals..Go figure.
I've been elusive about a fun project I have been doing with my brother, Tombo and his friend, Jonathan. We have been working on an entire look and feel for a start-up company, FreeRange,committed to bringing the premium wine in Bag in Box (BIB) format.Tombo and Jonathan will travel the world to bring a superior wine for the best price in a package that will keep the last glass as good as the first (which is what the BIB format can do). They are working with a big winery in France who is able to source wines from all over the world and is very interested in developing wines that will work with the US palette.
It has been a wild, quick ride--but we have a beautiful spectrum of wine that looks as good as it tastes. The boys rolled out the wine in Las Vegas to lots of interested buyers...so it is looking a lot closer to reality time. They love the offering, the look and graphics and the high quality wine. We are rolling! More as we go.
This California Quail in in the works. Not quite there yet...needs more work. This is one of a collection of birds I plan on doing during my stay at Syracuse...a pelican, maybe a kingfisher,a quail...some little birds. I am so inspired by Audubon--his strong design sense, his ability to alter the bird's gesture to really enliven the frame of the image, his strong patterning and ability to break the bird out into bold and simple shapes. A new bird has launched today in Las Vegas, a freerange bird! More on that tomorrow!
This bird was created in Adobe Illustrator CS2.
More sketches from looking at Byzantine pictures. They really crowd the features of the face into the center of the head, stretch and thin the nose, stylize the chiroscuro, and make the gestures wooden. Tiny little mouths.No teeth, ever. Lots of hair for the boys. Poor Mary. Always with some sort of headdress with these almost typographic folds. Her clothes are always made of the same material...sheet metal. Often times, her Byzantine clothes are ruby red with embroidered stars on the head, shoulders. Love the inset lettering shown in these icons.
This sketch is some of the work around my picture I want to do of Saint Francis of Assisi...the same guy as San Francisco (part of the Syracuse University MA challenge: "Do a picture of San Francisco") You got it.... The plan for my San Francisco is that he will have california birds around him (as St. Francis is often shown with the birds and animals that he would tame them by his presence). A second Saint Francis might suggest that he is shown with a skull (dig!). Another Saint Francis of Assisi story talks about the "Floating Palace". Story goes that he once gave his clothes to a poor soldier whom he met on the road, and that night dreamed of a palace floating in the air, adorned with military banners. At first he took this to be God's command to follow a soldier's career, but a voice told him that his vision signified "that which shall be spiritually wrought"...Maybe downtown or the skyline or the golden gate bridge in place of the floating palace? Under consideration as well.
After looking at all those fabulously dour byzantine saints, I started with this drawing. Not even close to where we need to go...but entertaining insofar as the long, attenuated faces that the byzantine style demands. No long faces here though. This guy just needs to have a little lunch and look forward to the daffodils. It can't be this bad all the time....SPRING FORWARD. Brilliant light today.
Book referenced: "Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art",©James Hall, 1974, Introduction © Kenneth Clark, published by John Murray, London, England.